Russia struggles to collect oil payments as China, UAE, Turkey raise bank scrutiny
Russian oil firms face delays of up to several months to be paid for crude and fuel as banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) become more wary…
Energy and climate
Hot TopicLatest reporting and analysis on energy and climate.
Profits not prices drive renewable development, new book says
In his new book The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet, Brett Christophers argues there’s a widespread misconception about what’s needed…
EC drops agriculture from climate change plan after farmers’ protests
The threat of renewed protests by farmers will cloud any EU attempts to set climate policy, while "pushback from the agriculture sector will further undermine efforts…
Real estate investors turn to lawyers after ‘huge’ CO2 shock
Real estate investors already battered by high-interest rates now face the prospect of significant writedowns triggered by new European regulations.
Ukraine switches off power exports as Russian attacks hit home
Amid a continued Russian bombardment on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that has seen its top power producer DTEK lose 50 per cent of its capacity, Kyiv sharply…
Russian oil terminals ‘legitimate targets’, Kyiv insists
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said Russian oil refineries were legitimate targets for its forces.
US wants Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil refineries
The US has urged Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, warning that drone strikes risk provoking retaliation and driving up global…
EU chiefs fire-up call for renewed nuclear-energy development
Leaders from pro-nuclear European Union countries and energy experts called for a nuclear energy revival at a summit in Brussels, seeking to rebuild the European…
Belgium: What drives the electorate in the South?
In June, Belgium will take part in European Parliament, national and regional elections at the same time, with municipal votes following a few months later.
EC U-turns on ‘green’ rules after farmers’ protests
Brussels is selling the changes as an attempt to streamline the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by cutting red tape
Dutch supermarket chain stops promotions on meat, to push ‘protein transition’
Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo will no longer offer promotions on its meat products, to encourage customers to eat "plant-based" food instead.
MEPs back new vehicle brake-emissions rules
MEPs have voted in favour of regulating vehicle-brakes’ environmental emissions as part of a new swathe of “green” transport rules.
Germans ‘may be left in the cold three days a week’, energy titan warns
If German coal plants are closed down, as is required by 2030, the country faces around 100 power cuts of up to 21 hours annually, according to Westenergie, Germany's…
EU CO2 tax may ‘make electricity more expensive and polluting’
A new “green” European Union tax might have some ugly, unintended consequences.
Groundbreaking Dutch CO2 storage-project costs soar
The Dutch Porthos project that aims to capture and store CO2 from industry in empty gasfields beneath the North Sea is proving much more expensive than initially…
Polish MP ‘tear-gassed by police’ at farmers’ protest in Warsaw
Sławomir Mentzen MP, a leader of the Polish right-wing Confederation party who was at a farmers’ protest outside the Polish Parliament, accused the police of…
Dutch double-up on nuclear power
The Dutch Parliament passed a move to build four new nuclear-power plants, doubling the planned two major installations originally envisaged.
Is a commitment to climate orthodoxy a prerequisite to working for the European Central Bank? The Frankfurt institution has tied itself in knots over the true meaning of diversity
There are two key kinds of diversity in Western liberal democracies. One visible. and one invisible.
EU solar panel market showing signs of collapse
EU manufacturers of solar panels are swiftly going out of business, as cheaper Chinese imports outcompete them.
Hard-left eco-arsonists set fire to Tesla’s Berlin gigafactory
Hard-left environmentalists set fire to a high-voltage transformer in Tesla's Berlin-Brandenburg factory, resulting in a major power outage and a forced halt in…
Brno’s integrated strategy: using EU funds, connecting urban and rural communities for a brighter future
Brno, Czechia In the heart of South Moravia, the city of Brno stands as a vibrant hub of culture, education, and innovation.
EU forced-labour crackdown ‘could curtail Chinese solar-panel imports’
A proposed European Union crackdown on goods made with forced labour could cut the number of Chinese solar panels imported into the bloc, the European Commission…
A $1.5 trillion ‘ESG’ debt market has started bleeding clients
In the world’s second-biggest ESG debt market, corporate clients are starting to walk away.
Tusk says Poland ‘will ignore EU Green Deal and Ukraine policies’ unless reformed
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met protesting farmers in Warsaw and called for reform of both the European Union’s Green Deal and the EU free-trade agreement…
German travellers left kicking their heels as transport workers strike
Travellers were left waiting in Germany as buses, trams and underground trains stood idle across most of the country at the culmination of a week of staggered public…
IEA: Global energy-related CO2 emissions hit record high in 2023
Global energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) hit a record high last year, driven partly by increased fossil fuel use in countries where droughts hampered…
Icy blast of bankruptcies loom for Swedish wind-power sector, experts warn
Two Swedish economists have issued a warning that the country’s wind-power industry is on the brink of a wave of bankruptcies.
Eurocities report spotlights local green initiatives
Eurocities, Brussels
Von der Leyen’s serial private-jet use ‘a disgrace’, says Left party leader
European Commission President Usrula von der Leyen has long championed “green” development and environmental protection - but her own carbon footprint is less…
‘Reform crucial now for troubled EU,’ says Draghi
Former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has demanded a reform of European institutions, insisting that the single market was in…